Networking allows us to communicate with people from across the world. Simply, networking is defined as the act of sharing data with other people through computers or any other form of technology that is connected to one of the several types of branches of networks.
A couple of very common examples of those being Internet and Ethernet. Computer Networking has a lot of different scopes to it, but in general, all of these scopes are some of the most demanding careers out there.
Yet that shouldn’t be something to worry you, since all the hard work that you put into the profession pays off. From working in cyber security to learning about ethical hacking, networking presents you with multiple opportunities.
There are many career paths like these when it comes to networking, such as network engineering, network programming etc. and all of them are some of the most widely growing fields when it comes to professions.
If you wish to get started with networking, the internet has some lessons that can help you out.
12 Websites to Learn Networking Lessons Online Reviews
1) Udemy
Udemy are an online marketplace that present to people from all over the world with over 150 thousand different courses.
When it comes to network related lessons, there are well over 7200 different ones that you can take in order to improve in specific fields.
These 7200+ lessons cover almost everything there is to networking, from courses that can grant you Cisco CNNA certification upon successful completion to those that can teach you all that you will need in order to get started with network marketing.
A good thing about the networking classes that are featured on Udemy is that there are some that are meant for complete beginners, even those that have no prior knowledge when it comes to anything related to networks.
All that these type of lessons will require from you is a below average amount of knowledge how computers work.
These beginner lessons will teach you about the fundamentals of how computer networks work function and how they work from the inside in order to transfer data, among other things.
The lessons on Udemy related to networks can help you become ready to design and work networks of your own, while some can help you pursue a career.
2) Coursera
Coursera have just a little over 1150 different lessons that you can take to improve your knowledge about networks and its different scopes.
There are some courses on the site that can teach you about software defined networking and how it is now changing the way that communication related networks all over the world are utilized and maintained. For people that wish to get into cyber security, there are lessons that teach you about the basics of specializing in computer network security.
These type of courses focus on teaching you how to hack applications across the web and patch them, along with other things such as how to create and patch IPS and firewalls to ensure a safer environment for specific networks.
Some of the more basic courses can teach you things about network services that play a vital role in helping computer networks stay functional like DNS.
Most courses of these types also cover other important things like the basics of everything involved with communicating through networks and transferring different types of information.
Some courses on the site are free to take. These courses are for beginners and are meant to get you prepared for the other more advanced lessons.
3) Lynda
There are just a couple of hundred short than 20,000 courses regarding networking available for selection on Lynda.com.
Since Lynda.com is a project of LinkedIn, a big chunk of these lessons are about the other kind of networking, the one where you communicate with other people and exchange ideas through elevator pitches, as many people tend to do on LinkedIn.
However well over 15,000 of these will be about the type of networking that you’re trying to look for, meaning that there are still many more lessons on the site that can help you out, more than you could possibly need.
Like the website listed before this, Lynda.com have a bunch of different lessons related to the topic that have been provided by companies.
Similarly to the last one these lessons will be teaching you about performing different tasks through the different applications that these companies provide you with.
These sort of lessons can be helpful for performing specific tasks. There are also more than a few classes that can help you learn more about network forensics, allowing you to find evidence in network systems through legal means.
Similarly, there are thousands of lessons that can teach you about all about networks.
4) edX
A website that has 269 different lessons related to the topic, edX are bound to have something in their collection that you are bound to find helpful on your journey on learning about networks.
These 269 courses cover pretty much everything about networking from start to finish. The main courses that beginners find helpful on the site are about the basics of security of networks and networks themselves. These sort of courses take on different approaches.
While some will talk to you about the growth of technology and how electronic devices used for communications are becoming more compact and easily accessible, others will be straight forward and tell you everything you’ll need to get started.
What these courses have in common though is that they will all be helping you develop networks that are secure and cannot be tampered by any intruders looking to steal any kind of data. Other courses will be teaching you about things like networking from an IT perspective.
These lessons will be focusing on providing you with detailed knowledge on everything that you need to know in order to understand the role of different information technologies and roles. Most of these courses are self-paced as well.
5) Future Learn
There may not be all that many courses available on Future Learn, since they have only 43 different lessons about networking, which is much, much less than what the other sites offer.
However this is by no means a bad thing. Instead of providing you with millions to make a tough decision from, Future Learn gives you some pretty straight forward and easy to follow lessons that you can take to understand the different branches and actions of networking.
The site has lessons for teachers and students alike. Students will be able to learn things similar to the ones taught in the other lessons taught so far whereas the ones for teachers take on a different approach.
The courses that are meant for teachers will be explaining everything that you need to know in order to teach others about networking.
The lessons will give you a crash course on everything about networking and all the different things that you can try to make the topic more likable in the eyes of your students, so that they don’t start losing interest any time soon.
They will get you familiar with different exercises and practices you can use to make things much easier.
6) Skill Share
Skill Share has exactly 577 different lessons on their website that you can take in order to gain a better understanding of networking.
Skill Share are a platform that encourage people to share their knowledge with others, which is why you will find network lessons that have been provided by experts and designed to help you become much better at specific aspects of networking.
There are courses on Skill Share that can teach any beginner about the fundamentals of every important aspect of computer networks. These sort of courses will teach you about the different types of networks and how they all function.
Others talk about networking from a professional point of view, how you can get yourself out of any problem and how you can maintain security.
Speaking of security, there are multiple lessons on the site that can teach you all about keeping your networks safe through cyber security and prevent any external interference from hackers that will try to steal information from your network.
Some are lessons that can be taken by people of any level, whether beginner or advanced, as they will start slow from the beginning and work their way explaining everything you need to know.
7) Study
Study.com feature all the courses that you’ll need in order to learn about networking and even more.
Some of their courses are about networking from the business perspective meaning that they probably won’t be much of a help for you, however a majority will be covering what you are looking for.
The site is a place for teachers and students alike to come together and gain knowledge about the things they want to learn. For instance, there are quite a few lessons on their site that you will find suitable if you are a teacher.
These sort of courses will tell you about all that you need to know in order to teach your students about networking, including teaching them how they can develop and keep their own networks secure.
For students they have what most other sites have, which are studies and courses designed to give you the best guide they possibly can so you can grow in any specific field of networking.
Their courses are either long and detailed or presented to you in a faster manner through flashcards. They have courses regarding backbone networking and all the different types of topologies to help get you started with networks.
8) Reed
Reed.co is a very old British site that focuses on presenting people in the United Kingdom, and all over the world, with top quality lessons that they can take in order to grow in any specific field.
They have exactly 5,679 courses on their site that can be taken to study about networking. They have lessons on every single subject when it comes to networks, whether it be for beginners to teach them about simple and basic things or for completely advanced students who are studying to earn a degree.
Speaking of degrees, Reed.co also have a few lessons on their site that are provided by universities and grant you a degree upon successful completion.
In this case, you can get degrees in computer networking by completing one of the courses on Reed that will let you know if they offer degrees or not.
These courses are much more expensive, however they will prepare you to make networking your profession.
A good thing about a majority of the courses that Reed feature is that they are self-paced, except for those that grant degrees and another type. These other types are classes conducted by trained tutors to teach you and others about networking.
9) Free Online Training Courses
It really shouldn’t have to be said what type of website Free Online Training Courses are. This particular course in their wide collection, is all about getting you started with networking.
The lesson covers pretty much everything that you would need in order to develop a better understanding of networking if you are a beginner.
There are multiple topics covered throughout the span of the course, including some extra ones that get you encouraged about networks.
The first lesson that you’ll find on the course is also similar to this, as it will tell you exactly why you should choose to use a network.
They tell you about all the advantages of networks from a professional view point, and how they could help you get work done much more easily and at a faster rate. Next is something that you’ll find on every lesson, which is talking to you about what you will need in order to get started.
Next, the topic will talk about everything that consists of a networks hardware and software along with the role every single thing plays. Simply put, the course is more than enough to help get you started.
10) Alison
Alison is another online platform that takes a similar focus as the ones that have been mentioned previously.
One thing that they don’t have in common with most of the other sites that have been mentioned so far is the fact that they don’t have anywhere near the amount of lessons presented by them, yet that doesn’t mean that they don’t have anything good for you to choose from.
There may only be 55 lessons on the site, but that isn’t bad, but in fact can be good since there aren’t many to choose from.
However making a choice between any specific one can still be hard because they all look promising and are all different in the way that they’ll be teaching you.
As you would expect from a small amount of lessons, not every single scope of networking is covered by the sites lessons, however you will find enough information to get started with the field in general.
Their courses are very lengthy, consisting of multiple different topics meaning that they will help you with more than just getting out of the beginner stage. All of their lessons spend their time introducing you to what you’ll learn to simplify things.
11) Network Lessons
The name of this site is network lessons, and well, it goes without saying that they are a website that will help teach you about everything that you need to know in order to develop a completely advanced understanding of networking.
From maintenance to security, the site covers just about everything that you’ll need to know in order to get yourself fully prepared for a profession in the field of networking. The lessons cover different topics, as you would expect.
Those that talk about maintenance will teach you all there is to know about finding specific problems in the network and eliminating them.
On top of this they will also cover other things like ways to develop networks further and things like that. The ones that will cover security are similar to the ones that have been mentioned already.
They will teach you about protecting any specific type of network from people that may want to breach it and collect any data stored in it.
A couple of them will provide you with a quick course on everything related to the field and all that you need to know before you can start your professional career in it. Lessons that can prepare you for CNNA and other exams are also available.
12) Class Central
Class Central is a type of engine that can help you find some of the best lessons available online. There are a total of 1385 different courses related to networking that you’ll find through Class Central.
These lessons will be focusing on different things, although obviously all will be focusing on networking, even if they do so loosely. They feature a wide variety of security related courses.
These courses are mostly all unique when it comes to their point of views and approaches. Some will focus on detecting when any intruder may be trying to cause harm in your network, others will teach you about collecting all evidence left behind by any intruders.
A majority of them teach you about defending networks against these intruders as well, which is obviously the main thing that you need to know about cyber security.
A few lessons will be teaching you all 3, making you completely familiar with cyber security and everything that you will need to know to protect your network.
There are some lessons by companies like cisco as well that will teach you how to use their programs to perform different tasks like configuring a router among other things.
Choosing the Best Networking Lesson Online
As mentioned at the very start, the field of networking is the most rapidly growing one in the entire world.
Its different scopes are growing more and more in popularity and the professions related to said scopes are both interesting to enroll in and offer a good wage. This is a big part of the reason why people choose this path in the first place.
There are more than several thousand different lessons because of this and all of them can be taken to make yourself much better than you already may be. The courses will all be detailed and help you greatly.